Government launches consultation on reforming courts after Brexit

Officials are asking the judiciary, lawyers and business to comment on the reforms which will decide which British courts have the power to depart from EU case law.

At present, only the UK Supreme Court and the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland will have this power from December 31.

Under proposals set out by the justice secretary Robert Buckland, the government argues the reforms will allow courts and judges in the country to reconsider cases on matters like borders, taxes and fisheries and make the final decision.

They say this will allow cases to progress quicker.

Have your say
Send your letters for publication to The New European by emailing letters@theneweuropean.co.uk and pick up an edition each Thursday for more comment and analysis. Find your nearest stockist here or subscribe to a print or digital edition for just £13. You can also join our readers' Facebook group to keep the discussion and debate going with thousands of fellow pro-Europeans.

Buckland said: ‘Since leaving the EU we are no longer bound by European laws, and it is absolutely right that British courts have the final say on legal disputes.

‘We will work with judges and the legal sector to decide exactly which courts should have the power to depart from retained EU case law and will set out our plan in due course.’

The Ministry of Justice is considering extending powers to: The Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the Inner Court of Session in Scotland, the Court of Appeal Northern Ireland and equivalent level courts throughout the UK; or those courts and the High Court of England and Wales, the Outer House of the Court of Session in Scotland, The Sheriff Appeal Court in Scotland, the High Court of Justiciary, and the High Court in Northern Ireland.

Any changes would need to be put into law first.